What do you want the reader to read first, the woman's comment or the Noah's ark sign?I like this joke. The name Herb with its double meaning was inspired.What about using the strip format to add another punch line? Panel One would be the same. Panel Two would have Herb shot out of the bear's mouth after Noah had done the Heimlick maneuver. The embarrassed Wife of Bear says,"Sorry travel gives him the munchies."

I think it still works whichever way the words come in this case. For me anyway.<P>Putting in extra panels adds a range of new possibilities to the gag - I agree. I think there is a big difference between writing a single panel and a strip. I think if I wanted to get into this cartooning thing more professionally I'd have to go for the strip.

As I enjoy watching you develop from a very good cartoonist to an even better one, its forcing me to reconsider some of my opinions about comics. I now see there is more different between a panel and a strip than just the shape. I read them differently. After enjoying Friday's strip, I realized how the layout is different between a panel and a strip. I see a panel much like a painting. My eye generally begins in the center and then wanders. Friday's strip layout was perfect for a panel. With strips I begin at the left and read to the right. Friday's punchline in the center made everything to the right meaningless. I feel it softened the reader's laugh as the reader passed the punchline expecting more to the right. I'm starting to see this in syndicated strip/panels. As a writer you know how important the set-up is to the timing of the joke. Do you think the layout of the gag is vital to a gag's success?

Friday's cartoon was originally a panel which I drew a few years ago. The Noah's Ark sign was well placed and the joke immediate. However, when I was submitting a new batch to a local paper over here this year I decided to change the format to a strip to see if that would increase my chances. I particularly liked this gag and re-drew it as I thought it would still work as I could add more animals to the line.<P>It's true I probably should have changed the wording around as we do read left to right.I'm curious now to change it around and see if there is a different response from readers. I think as I've had the gag for so long it didn't matter to me and I probably lost objectivity. Yes the layout is important to the gag. It's like those times when you know you've got a great gag but when you put it down on paper it just doesn't work. Visually it doesn't do justice to what you had in mind. Whether its the drawing, layout, or the gag itself who know's. Probably all 3.<P> The panel I also think of as a painting and therefore I think poor art shows out more. My lesser artistic skills lend better to a strip shape because of this.